External Workforce & BPO Program Manager

HALO•Oakbrook Terrace, IL

20h•Hybrid

About The Position

We are HALO! We connect people and brands to create unforgettable, meaningful, and lasting experiences that build brand engagement and loyalty for our over 60,000 clients globally. Our nearly 2,000 employees and 1,000 Account Executives located in 40+ sales offices across the United States are the reason HALO is the global leader in branded merchandise, uniform programs, and recognition and incentive solutions. HALO is seeking an External Workforce & BPO Program Manager to lead and evolve our contingent workforce and outsourced services programs. This role serves as the primary owner of the processes, partnerships, and operational controls that support our global non-employee workforce, including domestic and global temporary labor, as well as agency and BPO partners. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable developing workforce strategies and executive-level partnerships as they are maintaining accurate records, tracking headcount, generating reports and insights, auditing data, and ensuring operational excellence. This role requires a hands-on, detail-oriented professional who thrives in building structure, creating scalable processes, managing vendor relationships, and driving business outcomes across a complex global workforce environment.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree preferred.
6+ years of experience in contingent workforce management, workforce programs, talent acquisition operations, vendor management, HR operations, procurement, program management, or a related discipline.
Demonstrated experience managing programs that require both strategic stakeholder consultation and detailed operational execution.
Proven ability to establish, document, and continuously improve processes while maintaining data integrity, operational controls, and program consistency in evolving environments.
Experience evaluating workforce fulfillment models and advising stakeholders on employee, contingent labor, project-based, and outsourced workforce solutions.
Strong relationship management and influencing skills with the ability to effectively partner with business leaders, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Finance, Legal, vendors, and other cross-functional stakeholders.
Prior success migrating a corporate entity from manual spreadsheet-based vendor tracking to a formal Vendor Management System (VMS) strongly preferred.
Certification in Contingent Workforce Management (CCWP) or project management principles (PMP) strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted advisor to Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Finance, and business leaders regarding contingent labor and outsourced workforce strategies.
Consult with business stakeholders on talent fulfillment options, including employee, contingent labor, project-based resources, and BPO solutions.
Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, Finance, and business leaders on the optimal talent fulfillment approach, working to understand workforce needs and develop scalable, cost-effective staffing solutions.
Build strong working relationships across functions to ensure alignment, transparency, and effective decision-making.
Partner with Finance and business stakeholders to support workforce planning, budget forecasting, labor cost analysis, and spend reporting associated with contingent workforce and outsourced labor programs.
Own the day-to-day administration of contingent workforce records, tracking systems, vendor rosters, contracts, and reporting tools to ensure accuracy and visibility across the organization.
Maintain a high degree of data integrity through regular audits, reconciliations, reporting reviews, and process documentation.
Establish and continuously improve processes that create structure, accountability, and scalability as the program evolves.
Reconcile and process invoices associated with agencies, ensuring accuracy against approved contracts, rates, and SOWs.
Investigate and resolve invoice discrepancies, payment issues, and vendor inquiries.
Lead cross-functional collaboration with business leaders, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources, Finance, and Legal to assess workforce solution providers, staffing partners, and contingent labor vendors.
Direct operational lifecycle workflows of domestic and global contract talent, ensuring successful implementation through established governance, contracting, risk management, onboarding and offboarding processes.
Partner with HRBPs and TA to create guidelines for how and when hiring needs are released to secondary or tertiary staffing agencies.
Ensure QBRs are conducted to assess optimization, program savings, SLA, and other agreed-upon metrics.
Track contract renewals, fee structures, volume discount tiers built into various agreements.
Develop trusted, collaborative relationships with external partners locally and globally while holding vendors accountable for performance, service delivery, compliance, and business outcomes.
Influence vendor behavior through partnership, performance management, and continuous improvement initiatives rather than solely through contractual enforcement.
Serve as the primary point of contact to investigate and resolve third-party delivery bottlenecks, performance lags, or cross-border vendor staffing issues.